The Earthbending Chronicles
by Eddie Brock
Summary: This story follows the adventures of Keiko the Earthbender.
1. Chapter 1

This is just thefirst chapterso expect much more creative and exciting things to come.**

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**The Earthbending Chronicles**

"Today's the day!" Keiko yelled excitedly. She pranced around her room in pure joy. "I finally get to start learning Earthbending today!" She ran out into the kitchen to see her mother and father eating breakfast. "This is the most exciting day of my whole life!" she said dreamily. "I've been waiting for this day for years."

"I'm glad you're excited," her mother Michi said while setting the rest of the food on the table. She looked at Keiko and smiled. "I remember my first day of Earthbending lessons like it was yesterday," her father Shu said. He was a short man, but he was anything but weak. He was actually the strongest Earthbender in the whole village. He was good friends with Master Mamoru, the Earthbending teacher. He usually only accepts boys, but he made an exception because of his friendship with Shu. Michi on the other hand was not an Earthbender at all. She didn't even know how to fight. She had beautiful long black hair. It reached down to the middle of her back. She was tall and graceful and always knew how to dress. She was polite to everyone she came in contact with. Everything about her was almost the opposite of Keiko. She was short and not girly in the least bit. She was rough and had short light sandy black hair. She was very persistent and wouldn't let anybody get in her way or push her around. "Keiko, sweetie, you really should eat something," Michi urged. "I'm too excited to eat anything, Mother," she said while dancing around. "Well," Michi said doubting her daughters choice, "you better get going then. It's almost sunrise. You mustn't be late your first day. That would make Master Mamoru upset." she told Keiko."Okay Mother," Keiko said heading for the door."Behave yourself," Michi called to Keiko. "I will. I love you Mother! I love you Father!" she said waving to them. "That girl," Michi said shaking her head and smiling.

Keiko looked around and noticed that she wasn't the only one walking to Earthbending lessons. She looked around and saw her friend Tomo up ahead of her. "Hey Tomo!" she yelled waving to him as she ran to catch up. "Hi Keiko!" he yelled back. Keiko caught up to him and they started walking together. "I'm so excited about today. I couldn't sleep at all last night," Keiko said to Tomo. "I know. Me neither. My mother says if you don't get enough sleep you'll get sick." Keiko breathed in the cool morning air as she closed her eyes.

The village was in a valley right next to a large mountain. They almost never had contact with outsiders because of how far away from the nearest major Earth Kingdom city they were.Ako was the nearest city and it was over fifty miles away. Keiko and Tomo made it to the base of the mountain and started up the trail that leads to "The Learning Grounds" as Master Mamoru calls it. After about twenty minutes of climbing they reached The Learning Grounds. It was near dawn and there were already others there talking excitedly. Keiko and Tomo sat on the ground next to some others.

The sun began to peak above the horizon. As it did the ground started shaking. Everyone quieted down listening to the rumbling and quaking of the ground. Suddenly a man flew up from under the ground and everyone gasped. "Good morning students," the man said. "I am Master Mamoru and you are here to begin on the long and hard road to becoming an Earthbender." people started whispering to each other so Master Mamoru had to stop. "If you are going to talk and disrespect me and what I am saying, then I suggest you leave," he said firmly. Immediately the chatter stopped. "Now then. First off, there are three simple rules to Earthbending that must be followed at all times. Earthbending is to never be used to kill or hurt anyone unless you are fighting in war or in battle. Secondly, you shall never use Earthbending to steal. Thirdly, you shall not," he said this loudly and with great feeling, "and I mean you shall not, teach anyone what I am going to be teaching you. If you do this you have dishonored everything I have taught you. Now, what I am going to show you today is how to move a boulder back and smash it against that wall." he said pointing to the wall of the cliff. "The most important thing to Earthbending is your stance. You have to be solid, unmovable, not easily shaken."

He stood with his feet together. Arms bent in fists at his side. He was a good two feet away from the rock. Everyone watched and waited for what was going to happen next. Then he stepped in sync with his punch and sent the rock flying towards the wall. As it flew towards the wall it sent dust and pieces of rock flying everywhere. It smashed into the wall and crumbled into tiny pieces. "Now," Master Mamoru said standing up straight. He Earthbended another boulder out of the ground. "Are any of you ready to try it?" Almost at once everybody raised their hands shouting "Ooo! Ooo! Pick me! Me first!" Everyone except Keiko. She wasn't too sure she was ready just yet. "Don't you want to try it?" Tomo asked her surprisedly. "I don't know," she said unsurely. "I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Come on! You have to try it." Tomo nagged. "I'll wait until everyone else tries first," she answered.

"Okay. Suit yourself," Tomo said. Everyone stepped up to try, but no one could even budge the large boulder. "Has everyone tried?" Master Mamoru asked everyone. "I haven't!" said Keiko walking up to the boulder. "Now remember. Your stance needs to be perfect for you to even move the rock an inch," Master Mamoru said to her. She nodded and got into her stance. _Come on. You can do this. Just concentrate. _She then closed her eyes and took a breath. Everyone stared at her with eyes wide open. The air was tense. Everyone was waiting. Waiting for what was going to happen next. She took another deep breath and stepped forward and punched the boulder. It slid back and smashed into the wall exactly as Master Mamoru's boulder had done. When the dust cleared Keiko still stood there mouth wide open, her brown eyes open wide, still in her stance. Everybody else had the same reaction as her. Even Master Mamoru. "Well," he said still surprised by this amazing feat. "Now for the history of Earthbending. It all began when..." He continued talking while Keiko took her seat. "That was amazing!" Tomo whispered to her. "How'd you do it?"

"I'm still trying to figure out myself." An hour passed and finally Master Mamoru said. "Well that is all for today. I expect to see you all here by sunrise tomorrow morning!" he announced as everyone stood up and bowed. As Keiko started walking with Tomo, Master Mamoru asked, "Keiko, may I have a word with you?"

"Yes," she said. She walked over to where Master Mamoru was and waited for him to speak. "I just wanted to say that I am very, very impressedthat you could actually Earthbend. It usually takes beginners about three weeks of practice to get it down as perfectly as you did. I think you are much too advanced for this class. I want to start giving you private lessons. One-on-one. Do you want to have private lessons or do you want to continue learning with all your friends?" Keiko was amazed. She just wanted to say yes right away, but she still wasn't sure if she was ready. "I'll give you some time to think about it," Master Mamoru said. "Yes," Keiko said right after he said this. "Okay," he said. "We start now. Right now you begin to learn what your friends won't learn for years. Are you sure your ready?" he asked again. "Yes," Keiko replied. "I'm ready."

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Well there you go. After some reviews I'll post Chapter 2. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Here's Chapter 2. It's still not supposed to be the best of my writing. Chapter 3 and on will be a lot better.

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Chapter 2**

"It seems to me that you have mastered moving the rock so I am going to teach you how to pull pieces of earth from the ground to throw. Understand?" Master Mamoru asked. "I think so," Keiko responded unsurely. "Okay," he said getting ready to perform the move. He stood with his feet spread. His form was solid. His feet were planted to the ground. The expression on his face was that of fierce concentration. He lifted his hands to about eye level. As he did this a large boulder rose out of the ground. This time instead of having his feet together when he sent the boulder flying he took his left foot from behind himpivoted on his right footand stomped his leftfoot on the ground and punched the rock with his left hand sending it flying through the air this time instead of sliding on the ground. But just like before it smashed against the cliff wall into a million tiny pieces. "Now you try," Master Mamoru instructed straightening up. He stepped aside waiting for her.

She stepped up slowly wondering if she'd made the wrong choice. This was all so new to her. She stood exactly as Master Mamoru had. "You need to be solid. Remember that. It's one of the most vital things to remember as an Earthbender. Another thing. You seem very unsure of yourself. Confidence and attitude are also two very important qualities of an Earthbender. Your confidence needs to be rock solid. After you begin to become a more experienced Earthbender you will become more confident. Many of my former pupils were the same way so don't feel like you are alone. Do you understand?" As he finished speaking she let the words sink in. She then thought to herself, _Be confident. Be rooted. Be a rock. _As she thought this she began the move. Her form was perfect. Her movements were perfect. Almost everything about what she was doing was perfect. The rock started to rise from the ground, but it never broke away from the earth.

She dropped her hands and hung her head in shame. The piece of rock sticking upfrom the ground dropped back into the ground when she dropped her hands."I've failed," she said sadly. "You haven't failed unless you've given up. And don't expect to get every move right the first time. No one is that good. Not even I am," Master Mamoru responded. He gave her a smile. She picked her head up and looked at him. She suddenly felt better. She smiled back and got back into form. This time she was more confident. Still smiling she repeated the steps just as she had done before. This time the rock rose from the ground and broke away, but when she punched at it instead of flying through the air it shattered. "Well, it seems as if you've just learned a defensive move all on your own. Just one thing about that move.The time you will use that move is when fighting another Earthbender.You use the same form and movements though. You just need good timing.I was going to teach this to you next, but I guess I don't need to now. " He laughed. Keiko, determined to master the move by the end of the lesson tried again. This time the rock smashed against the wall just like it was supposed to. "Yes!" Keiko yelled triumphantly. "Good job," he commented with a smile. "Well, that's three moves that you've learned in one day. I think that's enough," he said. "I expect to see you here tomorrow after the regular lessons have ended."

"Yes, Sefu Mamoru," she replied with a bow."And don't tell any of your friends about this. It's our little secret," he smiled and bowed back. She ran off down the trail to that lead to thebottom of the mountain. She made her way as fast as she could down the mountain. She jumped over rocks, down small drops, and slid down steep parts of the trail. Once down the mountain she ran as fast as she could to the village. She made it to the market where she saw Tomo with his mother. When Tomo's mother saw Keiko she waved. "Hi Keiko."

"Hi!" Keiko waved back. She made it through the crowded village to her house. She burst through the front door startling her mother. "Keiko!" she yelled surprised. "TodayIlearnedallaboutEarthbendingandMasterMamorusaidIwasreallygood-and..." Keiko said as fast as she could. "Quiet!" her mother said. "Your father is in the back room talking with Master Mamoru right now."

"Really? What about?" Keiko asked curiously. "I don't know. It seemed important though," she replied returning to patching Keiko's clothes. "I think you should go play until your father is finished talking with Master Mamoru," Michi said without looking up from her sewing. "Okay," Keiko said heading for the door. "Be sure to be back for dinner," Michi told her. "I will," she said walking out. "I mean it this time!" She called after her. "I will!" Keiko called back annoyed. Keiko headed towards were all the boys were playing Hole Ball. Hole ball is a simple game in which the objective is for your team to get the ball and throw it in a hole guarded by the Guard (usually the biggest person on the team). As she walked over she said, "Hi everyone! Do you need an extra player?"

"Yeah," one of the boys said. "You could be an extra for my team."

Extras are the people who replace other players who get hurt or have to stop playing for some reason (her most common position because extras were almost never needed). _Awww! _she thought. _Not again! _She sat down next to Tomo. "What did Master Mamoru want to talk to you about?" he asked her. Right as she was about to tell him what happened she remembered what he had said. _"And don't tell any of your friends about this. It's our little secret." _

"He just wanted me to tell my father something." The game went on and for the first time in a long time someone had to go home because they didn't do their choresso Keiko got to play. She went out and she waited for the round to start. "Oooo look at the tough little girl," one of the boys taunted. " 'Look at me I'm a pretty little girl who wears makeup and dresses,' "the boy mocked. "Why don't you go home and play with dolls like a good little girl," he insulted. The boy and his friends laughed as he continued to mock her. She gritted her teeth together in anger.

The boy who was going to toss the ball up said, "Round up!" and tossed the ball into the air. Everyone on the playing field started running waiting for the boy who caught it to toss the ball to them. This boy was on the team opposite of Keiko. He looked around for someone who was open and spotted the boy who had been making fun of Keiko.She saw this and started running for the boy who had insulted her right as the boy who had the ball threw it to him. As he was about to catch it Keiko jumped. She caught it and started running for the goal. The boy who didn't catch it was outraged so he started running after Keiko. She was dodging people and getting closer to the goal. The boy was gaining fast. Right before he tackled her she jumped as high as she could. He went right under her. She pushed his back with both feet and threw the ball as hard as she could towards the goal. The ball flew right passed the Guard and into thehole as did the boy that tried to tackle her. "We win!" all her teammates yelled picking her up above their heads. The boy glared up at her from the goal and, covered in mud, crawled out. "You were saying?" she asked laughing at the boy.

He stood up and rushed over to Keiko once they put her down. Her back was turned to him sohe walked up to her and pushed her on the ground. "Get up and fight!" he yelled angrily. She got up quickly and punched him in the stomach. Seeing this, everyone encircled them and started chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The boy stumbled back and straightened up. He lunged at her and suddenly a wall of earth sprang from the ground. Immediately the crowd shushed. "What is going on here!" the familiar voice of Keiko's father yelled. "What are you two thinking!" he bellowed lowering the wall of earth. "He started it!" Keiko yelledaccusingly pointing a finger at the boy. "No I didn't!" he screamed back. "She attacked me!" He yelled. "Get real!" she screamed back. "Quiet!" Shu yelled. They both quieted right away. "I am very disappointed in both of you!" he said angrily. "Especially you, Keiko," he growled. "Dad, come on! He..." she tried to say, but was cut off. "I don't want to hear it, young lady! You go home now and go straight to your room. I'll deal with you later." he said. "But..."

"Now!" he boomed. He turned to the boy. "I'll bet your mother will be delighted to hear what you've been up to today." Keiko turned and started walking away. She looked at Tomo and his expression read, _I feel sorry for you. _Keiko looked away and continued walking home. As she walked she looked at the mountain in the back of the town. A small light shined off of the mountain and right in her face. She tried to see what it was, but it was too far away. She decided it was nothing and continued home. _How could he do this to me!_ Keiko thought as she angrily kicked a rock down the street. _I was just defending myself. _She began to ponder what kind of punishmentshe was going to recieve. A whipping? A grounding? Or the worst of them all. Extra chores. She shuddered and walked through the front door and went straight to her room. She sat down on her chair and put her hands on her chin and her elbows on her knees. _Aw well. It was worth showing that kid that girls aren't weakor inferior. _She smiled and waited for her father to come home. After about five more minutes of waiting her bedroom door opened and her father came in. She stood up and said, "Dad it's not my fault I was just..." He put up his hand for her to stop. She stopped and sat back down. "I talked to some of the other kids and they told me he had been bullying you and it was just self-defense," he told her. _Whewww. _She thought in relief. "So I'm not in trouble?" she asked hopefully. "Well not exactly," he said. _Uh oh. _She thought, all relief vanishing. "You just have to make peace with Jiang."

"What!" she yelled jumping upin surprise. "I'm not making peace with that jerk!" she yelled again. "I knew you'd say that," Shu said. "Okay I'll make this decision easier for you. You have to do extra chores until you do."

"I'll do it," she said without hesitation. _I knew that would work. _Shu thought as he led Keiko to Jiang's house. This punishment might not have been so bad for some of you, but Keiko's dad knew that extra chores were the best way to punish her. Jiang's house was two houses over so it wasn't that long of a walk. It was also the biggest house in the whole village so it was more than noticeable. Shu knocked on the door and Jiang's mother answered it. Keiko was looking down. Jiang's mother gave Keiko a dirty look then looked up at Shu. "Yes?" she asked in the most fake sweet voice ever. "Keiko has come over here to say something to Jiang," Shu answered. "Okay. Jiang!" she called to her son. "I'm coming, Mother," he called back. Once he made it to where his mother was he whispered, but still loud enough for them to hear, "What does SHE want?"

"She has something she wants to say to you," his mother replied just as snoodily as he had asked. Jiang's father was the richest man in the whole village so the whole family was a bunch of snoods. Keiko hesitated and so Shu told her, " Go on." He nudged her. "Sorry," she said quickly andwithout the faintest hint of remorse in her voice. "What are you sorry for?" Shu asked her. "Sorry for..." Before she said "for fighting with you" or "for pushing you in the mud" she smiled, looked up at him and said, "For kicking your butt." Shu nudged her again so she sighed and rephrased it. "For fighting with you, being mean to you, taunting you and pushing you in the mud," she muttered through her teeth. "Shake hands." Shu urged her again. "Dad, I know," she whispered in annoyance. She shook hands with him. He smiled a fake, snoody smile, exactly like his mothers, and his mother slammed the door.

After a couple seconds they started walking home. "Well, I can't blame you for beating that kid up," he smiled at her. She laughed and smiled back as they walked home. They walked through the front door to their house and saw Michi cooking dinner. She walked over and stood next to Shu. He sighed. "We have something we need to tell you," he told her. This time he was serious. "I think you should sit down," he told Keiko. She sat down and her parents right after her. "I talked to Master Mamoru today and he said that he started giving you private lessons because of your amazing skill," he sighed again andthen said, "I'll just get right to the point. He says that you need a better teacher than him so he wants you to train at the Earthbending Academy in Ba Sing Se'." Keiko's mouth dropped open in amazement. "Wha... what?" she said still dazed. "This is the most amazing thing ever!" she said standing up in excitement. She started laughing and so Shu finished and said, "He said that if you go to the academy you can never come back." Immediately she stopped and said, "Huh?" Michi started crying. "If you go to the Academy you can never come back here." Keiko asked, "What did you say?"

"We said yes."

"But what about my life. My friends. My family," Keiko asked, her voice wavering."Whycan't I ever come back if I go to the Academy?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Because it will be a new place. You are going to haveto start over. Master Mamoru said to do this we can never see you again. We want you to have the liffe we didn't so we said yes," Shu saidtrying to hold back his tears.Keiko looked from her mother to her father and then burst into tears and ran out the front door. Blinded bysadness she didn't even see where she was going. She went up the mountain she had seen the shining light on. She ran up and climbed higher and higher. She finally stopped near the top and fell to her knees and started yelling, "I don't want to do this! Why did they say yes! Why! I was happy! I don't want to go!" She then heard a voice that said, "What was that?"

"I don't know," another voice answered. Keiko stopped crying and started backing up. Suddenly someone grabbed her arms and said, "Spying on us are you, little girl?" Theytied her hands behind her back (very badly by the way. FireNationsoldiers are horrible at tieing knots) and started dragging her op the mountain.She turned her head around while they dragged her and noticed that the two men were soldiers. She lookedat the strange shape of their helmetsand noticed they weren't just any soldiers. She gasped. _They're Fire Nation Soldiers! _

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Well there you have it. Chapter 2. Leave a review! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Quit struggling you little brat!" the soldier dragging Keiko up the mountain snarled. He kicked her in the side and continued dragging her up the mountain. Keiko winced and gasped for air as the soldiers finally came to a large flat area where two Fire Nation guards stood with their weapons guarding the entrance to the Fire Nation army's camp. "We've have a prisoner," the first soldiers said throwing Keiko on the ground in front of the soldiers. The guards opened the gate and then one of them said, "Take her to the prison hold." The first soldier snatched the rope tied around Keiko's hands and yanked her up off the ground.

Keiko stepped inside the camp and started walking towards the prison hold on the other side of the camp. "You should feel lucky," the man laughed. "Your going to be the only person from that mangy excuse for a village that is going to survive," the man said to her while pushing her out in front of him. Sheglared at the man andlooked around the camp and saw the Fire Nation soldiers preparing their weapons, sparring with each other, eating what looked to be the remains of a large animal, laughing and doing many other things.

"Hurry up, you filth!" the other soldier yelled. He kicked her square in the back sending her stumbling forward and then crashing face first into the hard ground. "Get up!" the man yelled again rolling her over and kicking her in the stomach. He grabbed her by herhair and set her on her weak, wobbly legs. A drop of blood came out of her nose and dripped of her chin onto the ground. Covered in dust she was pushed and shuvved until she finally fell to the ground in pain. Breathing heavily she tried to stand up while all the soldiers laughed and ridiculed her. One soldier made fun of her by saying, "She's just a stupid little girl. Why don't we just kill her and get this over with."

_Little girl huh? _"If I'm just a little girl then why don't you fight me you big oaf?" She questioned him through her grasping voice still struggling to stand. He smiled looking around at the other soldiers and said, "She has guts, I'll give her that!" All the soldiers watched laughing. Everyone in the camp started yelling, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" just as the boys she had been playing with earlierhad. "Untie her," the man said to the soldier who was holding Keiko. He took a knife from his pouch and cut the ties holding her. She rubbed her wrists and as the man she was going to fight got into his stance.

She got into the stance she had learned earlier that day as the soldiers laughed and pointed. Ignoring them she tried to remember all that Master Mamoru had taught her. The soldier stared back at Keiko and threw his right foot forward and shot a blast of fire at Keiko. She dodged one fire blast after another as she tried to find a moment to launch an attack of her own. He finally hesitated when she stepped in front of one group of soldiers and so she took this moment to attack. She Earthbended a mound of earth out of the ground and launched it at her opponent. She repeated this method sending three more rocks flying at the soldier. He didn't expect her to be an Earthbender so the first three rocks knocked him off balance. The last rocked smashed right into his stomach propelling him across the camp into a tent. The tent toppled down on top of the man and all the soldiers watching gasped.

Everything was silent until one of the men in the crowd yelled, "Get her!" _How original _she thought. She looked around and saw an opening in the crowd. She ran towards it and ran to theplace where the animals were being sheltered. She closed the gate and locked it. She turned around and smiled. _Rhinos! _Meanwhile, on the other side of the gate one of the men who had captured her was furious. "Get that gate open immediately!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. One soldier squeezed his way to the front with his spear. "Look out!" The man started spearing the gate in attempt to get it open.

"Stop!" one of the soldiers yelled putting his ear to the door. His eyes widened. The whole side of the camp where the rhinos were smashed into pieces as the small girl struggled to control the creature. It stamped around wildly throwing soldiers in all directions. Many soldiers attempted to board the wild rhino and gain control, but their attempts were futile and some even proved fatal. The creature charged for the front entrance. Many people also tried to knock Keiko off the raging animal with anything they could get their hands on, but to no avail. They jumped out of the way to avoid being squashed or impaled by the rhino's horn. After she was a good halfway down the mountainside she slid of as the rhino came to a halt.

Keiko panted as she jumped and ran down the mountain as she had after her Earthbending lessons with Master Mamoru. The only difference was that this time she was running away in fear not excitement. She made it to the bottom and started running through the tall weeds. She rushed through them heading towards the town. _I have to tell everyone. _She thought in panic. _I have to warn them. _She made it to the edge of the town and out of the field of weeds. "Help!" she screamed. "Help! They're coming!" She made her way down the streets and burst through the door of her house. She collapsed on the floor crying. "Keiko! What is it?" Shu asked standing up. Keiko looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's the Fire Nation! They're here! They caught me and took me to their camp and started hitting me!" she screamed. "They said they're going to destroy the village and kill everyone!"

"Oh my god." Shu said dropping his cup of tea. He started heading towards the door. "Michi. Take Keiko and get out of the village. Head towards the southern mountain. There is a tunnel that you can go through. It will take you somewhere safe," he instructed looking back at them. "Dad. What about you?" Keiko asked in fear of the answer she was going to receive. "I don't know," he responded. "It's more important that you two get to safety." He ran out the door. "Come on Keiko," Michi said heading to the door. She grabbed Keiko by the hand and the two of them rushed out the door.

One woman screamed pointing towards the northern mountain. A horde of Fire Nation soldiers on their rhinos were flying down the mountain at incredible speed. Keiko was frozen to the spot in fear. "Keiko. Keiko come on! We have to go!" The two of them started running up theroad towards the southern mountain (this is the mountain where the Learning Grounds are) as the Fire Nation soldiers reached the edge of town. The two made it to the edge of the other side of town where they started running through the tall field of grass. Keiko looked back while running and saw the village burn as the people screamed. She let a tear fall and looked forward. They made it through the field and to the edge of the mountain.

They ran into the tunnel and noticed that many other people were there as well. After about five minutes of running through the tunnel Keiko and Michi stopped to rest. Keiko looked around in the dim light and saw Tomo all alone. "Tomo!" Keiko yelled through her breath at him. He looked over at her and stumbled over. She looked at him and saw his tear stained face. "They..." he cried, "...they killed them! They killed my parents!" He grabbed Keiko's shirt and started sobbing as she hugged him and held him close. Michi tried to comfort him. After a couple ofminutes Michi said, "We should keep moving. The Fire Nation soldiers will probably come through here." She was right. As the three of them stood up a man yelled, "They're coming!" The man ran right past them and kept yelling the same thing over and over again. The three looked at each other and then started running.

They made it past others who were either too slow, too old, too sick, or who had given up hope. The sound of loud, heavy footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Michi tripped and twisted her ankle. "Awwww!" she screamed as she fell to the ground. "Mom!" Keiko screamed turning around and running back to her mother. "Go!" Michi screamed from the floor. "No! I won't leave you!" Keiko yelled as her tears splashed to the ground. Tomo looked back waiting for Keiko. "Keiko. Sweety," Michi whispered to her. "I know you don't want to leave me, but you must." Keiko nodded. Tears streamed down her cheeks and splashed on the ground. Michi wiped the tears from Keiko's eyes and whispered, "I love you Keiko. I love you so much." Michi grabbed Keiko as tears streamed down her face. Tomo put his hand on Keiko's shoulder. She took one last look at her mother and turned away. As the two were about to run a Rhino crashed around the corner and stopped right in front of Michi. Keiko took a step forward as to help her mother. Tomo grabbed Keiko's shoulder and said, "There's nothing you can do! We have to go." Keiko took one last look and ran with Tomo. Keiko stopped. "I have an idea," she said. Tomo turned to her and said, "We don't have time. We have to keep moving."

"Wait a second," she replied. She turned to a big boulder that was jutting out from the side of the cave wall. She took ahold of it using Earthbending and threw it to the wall opposite of it. The cave started to shake and huge boulders fell from the walls and crashed into the ground. The Fire Nation soldiers were now blocked off from the two of them. "Keiko! There were people on the other side of the rocks! Now the Fire Nation soldiers are going to capture them for sure!" Tomo yelled. "Listen," Keiko said pointing her finger at him. "Who would you have rather been captured? Usor them? I know it sounds mean, but there's a saying that goes 'The strongest will survive' and in this case we were the strongest." She put her finger down and started walking down the path. "Are you coming or not?" she called over her shoulder. "I'm coming," he said running to catch up to Keiko.

They traveled in the dimly lit murky cave until they came to a split in the cave. "Just great!" Keiko yelled kicking a stone. "Which way do we go now? Left?" she pointed to the left side of the tunnel. "Or right?" she asked pointing right. Tomo put his hand on his chin and looked form left to right. "Let's go right," he said heading for the right side. "Right it is," Keiko responded following after him. They traveled twenty minutes until they came to a dead end. "I'm guessing it was left," Keiko replied sarcastically. Tomo glared at her and started walking back. "Just a thought," she murmured. They got back to the spot where the fork in the tunnel was and this time they took the left side. After about an hour of weary walking Keiko squinted her eyes and said, "I think I see a light." The two of them ran as the light drew closer and closer. Finally they reached the exit to the cave, but what they saw was frightening.

"And where do you think you're going?" It was Fire Nation soldiers. "Run!" Keiko screeched as she turned and tried running into the forest. A man jumped out from the bushes and grabbed her. Tomo, who had tried to run the opposite way, was also caught by a man. "Ah, ah, ah," the man on the Rhino said wagging his finger. "It isn't very polite to run away when someone is talking to you," he mocked. "Tie 'em up!" the man yelled. Before the man holding her could tie her hands behind back she had an idea. She swung her foot forward and then swung it backwards as hard as she could hitting him square between the legs. He let go of her hands and grabbed himself falling to the ground. Tomo followed suit also hitting his captor between the legs. Before he hit the ground the two had already run off into the forest. "Don't let them just run away like that!" one of the men on the floor squeaked. Three of the men on rhinos turned and started chasing the two escapees. Keiko and Tomo ran as fast as they could until they came to a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff there was a field of trees and then a village. The two looked at each other as they heard the rhinos footsteps get closer. They grasped hands and sat down on the cliff edge and pushed off. They slid down and finally reached the bottom where they were sent flying. "You okay?" Keiko asked helping Tomo up. "I'm fine. If we get to that village we might be able to escape the Fire Nation soldiers." Tomo added brushing himself off. "Okay," Keiko replied. "That'll probably work. Let's go."

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"Um, Admiral Hiroshi? It looks like the two are heading towards that small village over there." said the scout pointing towards the village. "Let them go," Admiral Hiroshi said calmly. "Excuse me?" questioned the scout surprisedly. "They just attacked two of our soldiers and made you look like a fool while..." The Admiral whipped around and grabbed the scout by the throat. "First of all," he snarled. "No one makes me look like a fool. Secondly, do you think I give a damn about those two soldiers? And Thirdly, what I say goes. If you have a problem with that I'll burn you alive. You got that?" he growled staring the scout right in the eyes. "Yes sir," the scout choked. "Good," he said tossing him on the ground. "They're just two filthy Earth Nation kids. What are they going to do? Defeat the Fire Nation single handedly?" he said with a chuckle.

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The two made it inside the village and started asking travelers if they were by any chance heading to Ba Sing Se. After about the thirtieth no Tomo asked, "How are we going to get to Ba Sing Se if no one is going there?"

"We just have to keep asking, I guess." Keiko replied leaning against a wall in the shade. As he was about to walk away to continue asking he stopped. "Wait a minute. What are we going to Ba Sing Se for anyway?"

"Well first off it's the safest place for escaped convicts (which we are now) and second Master Mamoru mentioned that he knew someone in Ba Sing Se that was even more of a master at Earthbending than he was that could teach me." Keiko explained heading over to where Tomo was standing. "Let's ask him." Keiko pointed to a man who had just pulled into town in a wagon pulled by two Ox/Bison looking creatures. "Umm, excuse me!" Keiko yelled to the man. She made her way up to the wagon. "Sorry to bother you, but do you happen to be heading towards Ba Sing Se"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact I am. I'm going there to set up my merchant stand," the man replied. He was a slightly fat man with a balding head and weathered skin. "Well do you think you could give me and my friend a ride? Our village was just destroyed and we are the only ones who escaped." she asked hopefully. "If you help me load my supplies into my wagon then sure. It would be great to have some company on the trip." he answered. "You've got yourself a deal," she said reaching up and shaking the mans hand. "I'm Keiko," she said smiling. "My name is Zen. Nice to meet you." He smiled back. Tomo came up and introduced himself to Zen and then after Zen purchased necessaries for the rest of the trip Tomo and Keiko loaded them onto the wagon. Three hours later Zen was making sure everything in the wagon was secure. "Well looks as if we're ready to shove off," he said hopping into his seat. "You two should hop in back and get some rest. You look exhausted." They were, so they jumped in back and laid down as the wagon rolled out of town. _I hope they're okay. _Keiko thought remembering her parents. _Wherever they are._


End file.
